Hawaii is responding to the recent bike-sharing frenzy by introducing its own pilot B-Cycle program in the city of Kailua in December. The initiative is intended to offer a healthy choice of transportation, lessen the volume of traffic on the roads and improve the current car-cyclist relationship.

“B-Cycle is more for the residents of Kailua than for the tourists,” said Nguyen Le of Momentum MultiSport. “It is to provide a way for the residents to get around for short trips by bike instead of by car. The reason Kailua was chosen was because it is a geographically small area with natural divisions by the ocean and the high hills. It has a population density so a cycling program can service the community adequately which is what made it a good candidate for a pilot program.”